Imagine a ship leaving port and heading out to sea.  If the captain has not set the final destination, when a storm comes along, the ship will simply drift along in whichever direction the elements take it.  However, with a clear destination, the captain can right the ship and pull it back on course.  The journey may take a little longer than planned but the end point will, ultimately, be reached.

As we collectively face a lot of storms, both literal (because of climate crisis), and figuratively, it is more important than ever that we individually and collectively, get clear about the direction in which we are heading.  Imagine what could happen if every single human being decided that they wanted to live in a cooperative, loving, supportive way which honoured and respected all life on this planet.  Clearly, we would collectively change direction very quickly and shape a very different future for ourselves, future generations, and the planet as a whole.

Consciously shaping your future does NOT mean that storms will not come along.  Weather happens!  Life happens! Every one of us has a different life curriculum with different lessons to learn and, in my experience, many of them have not been easy lessons but they are there to teach us and to help us evolve.

Consciously shaping your future does NOT mean that you will live in a perfect little bubble and be impervious to the anything unwanted or unexpected.  For example, I am now living the life which I could only have dreamt of 7 years ago.  It is truly beautiful.  However, I obviously had not factored in the storm that was the pandemic and the fact that my beloved partner would still be living with Long Covid after nearly 3 years.  It has been really tough to watch him suffer and it has, definitely, shaped our lives in a way which I had not foreseen.  It has brought huge life lessons to both of us.

However, given that one of our dreams was to live a healthy and balanced life, we had already taken many steps towards destination in terms of simplifying our lives and removing as much stress as possible, living in a natural environment which supports our wellbeing, growing a lot of our own food, doing yoga and meditating daily etc.  All these choices and habits were developed pre-pandemic and, without them, I truly believe that Eoin’s slow but gradual recovery from Long Covid may not have happened.  It hasn’t happened for millions of other longhaulers who are still being tossed around by the awful storm that is Long Covid.

So, yes, our lives have been impacted by this storm but the vision (or final destination) of living a healthy, balanced lifestyle in a beautiful environment has allowed us to keep righting our course and we have reached that destination (albeit in a slightly different way to what my ego mind had conceived of 7 years ago).